Ludington Pumped Storage Plant

It’s an engaging mix of high tech and low tech — a huge man-made lake along Lake Michigan where electric pumps suck water in at night, when electric demand is low, and where the water is released back out into the big lake in the afternoons, generating electricity when demand is at its peak.

Consumers Energy and Detroit Edison, co-owners of the Ludington Pumped Storage Plant, Monday announced a major maintenance and upgrade project that will mean significant investment in northwest Michigan, 100 construction jobs per year and increase the plant’s power generation by 16 percent.